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Best in Britain for student retention

º£½ÇÖ±²¥ is celebrating yet more national recognition after scooping a top award from The Times and The Sunday Times.

It has been crowned University of the Year for Student Retention with a rate that is the best in Britain. Student retention is a key concern for universities and º£½ÇÖ±²¥ prides itself on encouraging people from a wide range backgrounds to benefit from higher education and to go on to flourish in their chosen careers.

The award from The Times and The Sunday Times recognises the commitment of the University to enhance the student experience and offer support to ensure students complete their courses.

The English funding council expects the number of º£½ÇÖ±²¥ students not completing their course to be around 15% – roughly one in six students. However, the University has achieved a rate of just 9% – around one in 11 students – considerably better than any other university in the UK. The rate of students not completing courses in UK higher education is around 17%.

º£½ÇÖ±²¥ has always recruited from a wide range of backgrounds. It is in the top ten for the proportion of UK undergraduates coming from working-class homes – over 47% – 26% of places go to students from areas of low participation in higher education which is twice the national average.

º£½ÇÖ±²¥â€™s student retention work has also been highlighted as an example of good practice by the National Audit Office.

The University is investing heavily on improving the student experience with a £30m campus heart development, which includes a £20m new teaching and learning building and extensive landscaping, the refurbishment of the Students’ Union and a major multi-million pound investment in facilities for the scientists and engineers of the future in the School of Science & Engineering’s Orion Building.

Earlier this year the University was awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for excellence in Higher Education and has recently been shortlisted for Entrepreneurial University of the Year in the Times Higher Education awards.

Professor Eileen Martin, º£½ÇÖ±²¥â€™s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), said: 'We are wholeheartedly committed to working with our students so we can support and enhance their experience and we are delighted to be recognised as the best university in Britain for our retention rates.

'A student’s journey into higher education and the changes that take place during their studies are critical moments in their learning experience.

'We develop and support innovative strategies to reach a wider range of students and retention is at the heart of our widening participation agenda. We are committed to providing a first class learning environment and a student experience that is second to none.'

In its announcement of º£½ÇÖ±²¥ as University of the Year for Student Retention, The Times and The Sunday Times writes: 'º£½ÇÖ±²¥ is embedded in its region to an extent that few other institutions can match. Its aim is to be the country’s leading university for working with business — but it also aims to demonstrate a real and continuing commitment to social inclusion.'

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